I spent the weekend in bliss catching up on DVDs that had been piling up unwatched.
One very great surprise was "Apocalypto" which is a fascinating, fast-paced and beautiful film. Yes, it has quite a bit of violent behavior and a little gore. It's upsetting. But the payoff is superb.
Another surprise was "Daddy Long Legs." Yes, I'd read BK's rave about the transfer. I've seen this film several times in various "video" incarnations. None of them ever gave me a sense that this film had any cohesion, which I found surprising. I now realize that I'd never seen the whole film. And WHAT A FILM TREAT it is! This is a gorgeous DVD. The colors are often phenomenal (the final ballet sequence is one of the most glorious things ever committed to film). I found it touching and tuneful and a ton of fun. I had no problem with the May-December nature of Caron and Astaire, having long ago bought into the similar situation of Hepburn-Astaire in "Funny Face" (although I still have difficulty with the Hepburn-Cooper relationship in "Love in the Afternoon"...Coop is just TOO long in the tooth).
I figuratively "devoured" the Miss Marple boxed set of four Margaret Rutherford films. What a treat! Indescibable joy in a four-pack.
I had a nice reunion with "That Touch of Mink", but the DVD from Artisan was a big disappointment. Throughout the film there were focus problems, and not a few scenes were color-unsaturated with foreground too light and the background a deep blue. I can liken the focus issues with the color issues in "Can-Can"....just as the color in the latter fluctuates in brief snippets throughout that film, the focus in the former goes askew in brief snippets throught the Day-Grant film.
"Can-Can" was also on the agenda. This is another film that was always severely hampered with TV viewings. This film should be seen in one way only, and that is the full widescreen spectrum of its Todd-AO presentation. The sound was really good and the film was much-improved for me despite the color fluxes. It's still not ideally cast. Sinatra is mis-cast. Jourdan should have been in his role. Jacques Bergerac should have had Jourdan's role. And....oh, I don't know...anybody ELSE should have played the Shirley MacLaine role.
Still....a FUN film.
Last night, I settled in with "Brigadoon" which I have not watched in a few years....and needless to say, I've not seen it on my HDTV.
This film remains a major pleasure. The sound is awesome and the studio sets IMPROVE a great deal when watching it on a larger screen in the proper ratio.
I also put "Bells Are Ringing" on my DVD just to watch "Just in Time" and found myself watching other scenes, as well. It's a glorious transfer and, again, it's like seeing a new film when it's seen on a larger screen in the proper ratio.
Let's see, I know I'm forgetting some things.
Oh, yes....Friday, I watched "Paint Your Wagon"....lovely film, beautiful DVD transfer. Stunning Jean Seberg. Love that Andre Previn adaptation.
Later that same day, I revisited (it had been a couple of years since my last viewing) "Victor, Victoria" which is totally splendiferous on DVD and on the larger HDTV screen. What a joy this film remains!!! I find myself becoming immersed in the details I'd never noticed before on the smaller 17-inch screen I'd been using the past 14 years!
That's all I can remember of my Memorial Day Movie Marathon. But I'm certain I'm still leaving something out.
